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Mexican Taxpayers Spend More Than 1.5 Million Pesos on Public TV Bullfighting Show

Humane Society International/Mexico

A bullfighter in Mexico. Bullfighting is growingly unpopular in Mexico. HSI

The bullfighting show “Toros Sol y Sombra,” aired by Canal Once, Mexico’s public TV broadcaster, costs Mexican taxpayers more than 1.5 million pesos every year. That’s according to a financial statement obtained by Humane Society International, which is calling on Canal Once to stop broadcasting the bullfighting show.

HSI obtained the financial statement through Mexico’s National Institute for Access to Public Information and Data Protection. With this amount, Mexico could provide around 700 additional food stipends every year to families that live under the poverty line and are entitled to social benefits from Mexico’s conditional cash transfer program Prospera.

Anton Aguilar, HSI/Mexico director, said: “We call on Canal Once to end the broadcasting of its show ‘Toros Sol y Sombra’, which is devoted to exalting bullfighting. The promotion of this blood sport on public television is at odds with public opinion. In a context of weak public finances and rampant violence across the country, Mexico must find better ways of spending taxpayers’ money. We must stop subsidizing cruelty.”

The show “Toros Sol y Sombra” is broadcast every Monday evening. It shows bullfights around the country and airs interviews with bullfighters. It openly celebrates bullfighting as a “tradition” that should be promoted and preserved.

Bullfighting is growingly unpopular in Mexico. According to Parametría, a leading polling agency, 73 percent of Mexicans support a nationwide ban on bullfighting. At the State level, Sonora, Guerrero and Coahuila have already banned this cruel practice.

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